Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Forgiveness
For the director of music. A psalm of David when the prophet Nathan came to David after ·David’s sin with Bathsheba [he committed adultery with/L had gone to Bathsheba; 2 Sam. 11:1—12:25].
51 God, be ·merciful [gracious] to me
·because you are loving [according to your love/loyalty].
·Because you are always ready to be merciful [According to your abundant compassion],
·wipe [blot] out all my ·wrongs [transgressions].
2 Wash ·away [L me thoroughly from] all my guilt
and make me clean ·again [L from my sin].
3 I know about my ·wrongs [transgressions],
and ·I can’t forget my sin [L my sin is continually before me].
4 You ·are the only one [alone] I have sinned against;
I have done ·what you say is wrong [L evil in your eyes].
You are ·right [vindicated] when you speak
and ·fair [pure; blameless] when you judge.
5 I was ·brought into this world [born] in ·sin [guilt].
In sin my mother ·gave birth to [conceived] me [Rom. 3:9–20; 7:18].
6 You ·want me to be completely truthful [L desire truth/faithfulness in my inward parts],
·so teach me wisdom [L and secretly you make me know wisdom].
7 ·Take away my sin [L Remove my sin with hyssop; Ex. 12:22; C a plant used in purification rituals; Lev. 14:4, 6, 49–51; Num. 19:18], and I will be clean.
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow [Is. 1:18].
8 Make me hear sounds of joy and gladness;
let the bones you crushed ·be happy [rejoice] again.
9 ·Turn [L Hide] your face from my sins
and ·wipe [blot] out all my guilt.
10 Create in me a ·pure [clean] heart, God,
and ·make my spirit right again [L renew a right/steadfast spirit in me].
11 Do not send me away from you
or take your ·Holy Spirit [or holy spirit] away from me.
12 ·Give me back [Restore to me] the joy of your ·salvation [rescue].
·Keep me strong by giving [Sustain in] me a willing spirit.
2 Lord, I have heard the ·news [report] about you;
I am ·amazed [in awe; afraid] at what you have done.
Lord, do great things once again in ·our time [L the midst of the years];
make ·those things happen again [L them known] in ·our own days [L the midst of the years].
Even when you are angry,
remember to be ·kind [compassionate].
3 God is coming from Teman [C near Edom, south of Israel];
the Holy One comes from Mount Paran [C on the Sinai peninsula south of Israel; the language recalls God’s revelation at Mount Sinai; Deut. 33:2].
His glory covers the ·skies [heavens],
and his praise fills the earth.
4 He is like ·a bright light [flashing lightning; or brightness at dawn].
Rays of light ·shine [flash] from his hand,
and there he hides his power.
5 ·Sickness [Plague] goes before him,
and ·disease [pestilence] follows ·behind him [L at his feet].
6 He stands and ·shakes [or measures] the earth.
He looks, and the nations ·shake [or jump] with fear.
The ·mountains, which stood for ages, [eternal mountains] ·break into pieces [crumble];
the ·old [age-old; everlasting] hills ·fall [sink] down.
·God has always done this [Ancient paths/ways are his].
7 I saw that the tents of Cushan [C located in southern Transjordan] were in ·trouble [distress]
and that the ·tents [curtains] of the land of Midian trembled [Ex. 15:14–16; Josh. 2:9–10].
8 Lord, were you angry at the rivers,
or ·were you angry at [was your wrath against] the streams?
Were you ·angry [enraged] with the sea
when you rode your horses and chariots of victory?
9 You ·uncovered [pulled out; brandished] your bow
and commanded many arrows to be brought to you.
You split the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw you and ·shook with fear [writhed; trembled].
The ·rushing [raging; torrents of] water ·flowed [swept by].
The ·sea [deep] ·made a loud noise [shouted; roared],
and ·its waves rose high [L lifted its hands high].
11 The sun and moon stood still in ·the sky [L lofty dwelling place];
they stopped when they saw the flash of your flying arrows
and the ·gleam [glint] of your ·shining [flashing] spear.
12 In ·anger [indignation] you marched on the earth;
in anger you ·punished [trampled; threshed] the nations.
13 You came out to ·save [rescue] your people,
to save your ·chosen one [anointed].
You crushed the ·leader [head] of the ·wicked ones [L house of the wicked]
and ·took everything he had [lay him bare], from ·head to toe [L foundation to neck].
Jesus with Friends in Bethany
12 [L Therefore] Six days before the Passover Feast, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus lived. (Lazarus is the man Jesus raised from the dead.) 2 There they had a dinner for Jesus. Martha served the food, and Lazarus was one of the people ·eating [L reclining; C it was customary to eat formal meals while reclining around a low table] with Jesus. 3 [L Then] Mary brought in a pint [C Greek litra; about eleven ounces, weighing just under a pound] of very expensive ·perfume [ointment/fragrant oil] made from pure nard. She ·poured the perfume on [anointed; C not the word for royal or priestly anointing, but for hospitality or care] Jesus’ feet, and then she wiped his feet with her hair. And the ·sweet smell [fragrance] from the perfume filled the whole house.
4 Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] who would later ·turn against [betray] him, was there. Judas said, 5 “This ·perfume [ointment/fragrant oil] was worth an ·entire year’s wages [L three hundred denarii]. Why wasn’t it sold and the money given to the poor?” 6 But Judas did not really care about the poor; he said this because he was a thief. He was the one who kept the money ·box [or bag], and he often stole from it.
7 [L Therefore] Jesus answered, “Leave her alone. It was right for her to save this perfume for today, the day for me to be prepared for burial. 8 [L For] You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”
The Plot Against Lazarus
9 A large crowd of ·people [L Jews] ·heard [learned; came to know] that Jesus was ·in Bethany [L there]. So they went there to see not only Jesus but Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. 10 So the leading [T chief] priests ·made plans [plotted; counseled together] to kill Lazarus too. 11 Because of Lazarus many of the Jews were ·leaving [going away from; deserting] them and believing in Jesus.
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